Capt. Kelly Justice Campaign -- Stormont Watch

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Date Posted: Sun, Oct 14 2007, 23:38:40 PDT
Author: Letter to an editor
Subject: Capt. Kelly Justice Campaign

Letter to the Editor, Irish Mail on Sunday

Dear Editor,

On Sept. 5th former Sinn Fein assembly member John Kelly died at the age of 71 at his home in Maghera, Co. Derry. Several former colleagues paid tribute to him. Some local papers referred to him as a �charismatic politician�. The Irish News [Belfast] a few days later reported his funeral under the headline, �Principled republican was opposed to abuse of power�.

He was only one Kelly who figured in the Arms Trial, the other , not related, was Capt. James �Jim� Kelly, Others in the dock included future Taoiseach Charles J. Haughey, fellow cabinet minister Neil T. Blaney and a Dutch businessman Albert Luyks. All faced charges linked to importing arms so that nationalists in the Six Counties could defend themselves in the pogroms of 1969/70. When acquitted with all his co-accused, John Kelly gave an impassioned oration from the dock and was forthright about what he and other northern community leaders sought. He put the record straight then, and until his death continued to do so�.�We did not ask for blankets or feeding bottles. We asked for guns, and no-one from Taoiseach Lynch down denied our request or told us this was contrary to government policy�.

While John was the last of the co-accused to pass away, it should be remembered that he, like others leaves behind a widow, children and extended family, all of whom feel that closure has never been secured, in this unfinished business, which the Co. Derry man described as ��an echo of sadness from the graves of dead generations�.

There are many civil rights veterans and supporters, in the north and beyond these shores who since Capt. Jim Kelly�s demise in 2003, have been campaigning for the full facts of that era to be officially recognised. Initially, hours after Capt. Kelly�s death a statement from the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern TD, seemed to resolve matters. His comments then are included in an International Petition which can be viewed at www.captainkelly.org.

As a regular reader of the Irish Mail on Sunday I would be delighted to read the findings of any one of your skilled investigative journalists in a future edition. Then, maybe, justice will be done and be seen to be done, after more than three long decades. Let us all hope that truth will out in the end, for justice delayed, is certainly justice denied.

Name and address supplied:
Civil Rights Veterans Office, Derry BT48 7HR.
Rights.civil@googlemail.com

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